Cabal vs. Cabala — What's the Difference?

A small group of people engaged in secret or confidential plotting.

Has influenced various aspects of mysticism and modern spirituality.

A scheming group seeking to influence or gain power.

Involves mystical practices aimed at understanding divine phenomena.

Often associated with shadowy or conspiratorial actions.

An ancient Jewish tradition of mystical interpretation of the Bible.

Used in historical contexts to describe covert political groups.

Focuses on spiritual enlightenment and connection.

A cabal is a group of people who are united in some close design, usually to promote their private views or interests in an ideology, a state, or another community, often by intrigue and usually unbeknownst to those who are outside their group. The use of this term usually carries negative connotations of political purpose, conspiracy and secrecy.It can also refer to a secret plot or a clique, or it may be used as a verb (to form a cabal or secretly conspire).

A system of esoteric philosophy and metaphysics.

A conspiratorial group of plotters or intriguers

Variant of kabbalah. See Usage Note at kabbalah.

A secret scheme or plot.

Alternative spelling of Kabballah

To form a cabal; conspire.

A kind of occult theosophy or traditional interpretation of the Scriptures among Jewish rabbis and certain mediæval Christians, which treats of the nature of god and the mystery of human existence. It assumes that every letter, word, number, and accent of Scripture contains a hidden sense; and it teaches the methods of interpretation for ascertaining these occult meanings. The cabalists pretend even to foretell events by this means.

A secret political clique or faction.

Secret science in general; mystic art; mystery.

(pejorative) A putative, secret organization of individuals gathered for a political purpose.

An esoteric or occult matter resembling the Kabbalah that is traditionally secret

A secret plot.

An esoteric theosophy of rabbinical origin based on the Hebrew scriptures and developed between the 7th and 18th centuries

An identifiable group within the tradition of Discordianism.

(intransitive) To engage in the activities of a cabal.

Tradition; occult doctrine. See Cabala.

A secret.

A number of persons united in some close design, usually to promote their private views and interests in church or state by intrigue; a secret association composed of a few designing persons; a junto.

The secret artifices or machinations of a few persons united in a close design; intrigue.

To unite in a small party to promote private views and interests by intrigue; to intrigue; to plot.

A clique (often secret) that seeks power usually through intrigue

A plot to carry out some harmful or illegal act (especially a political plot)

Engage in plotting or enter into a conspiracy, swear together;

Cabala studies the mystical aspects of the Jewish scriptures and seeks to uncover hidden spiritual truths.

Yes, although traditionally rooted in Jewish thought, Cabala has universal aspects that are studied across different cultures.

Primarily, yes, cabal refers to secretive political strategies and manipulations.

Yes, Cabala extensively studies and interprets the Torah and other Hebrew scriptures.

A cabal is a small group of people united in some close design, often secret and to gain power or control.

Cabal often has a negative connotation associated with secrecy and conspiracy, whereas Cabala is viewed positively as a spiritual and mystical tradition.

Yes, the term is often used to describe perceived secretive groups within governments or corporations.

Yes, one famous historical example is the "Cabal Ministry" of King Charles II of England.

Practices include meditation, prayer, and the study of sacred texts to gain spiritual insight.

Cabala’s concepts of divine unity and spiritual connection have influenced various new age and spiritual movements.